Arranging The Perfect Marriage
by XxAyu-chanxX
Summary: Kyouya and Eri are the best of friends. They soon find out an arranged marriage is on the horizon. Will trying to fall in love work, or will they both fall for different people?
1. The Beginning

**I DO NO OWN OURAN OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS.**

* * *

><p><strong>The Beginning<strong>

Upstanding families tend to raise upstanding children. The rich people of the world are the ones who are seen as privileged and snobby. Other people view them as scum for having all of the things they wish they could have. It happens more often that people like to admit. The Ootori family was one such family. It was comprised of four sons and a daughter. The boys of the family would be the ones that would be taking over the company. They competed with each other since day one. Kyouya being the youngest was the one that had to top the others if he really wanted the company. It was one thing many people don't know about the young, black haired, glasses wearing boy.

It was also rare that people knew of the Ootori's number one business associate. Their name was Hyuuga. Daisuke was the head of the company, along with his wife. Their marriage had been arranged, just like it is with many other families. While Amaya's family wasn't quite as rich as the Hyuuga family, Daisuke's father saw potential in the business they ran. Upon their meeting, it was love at first site. The two were already smitten with each other before they had even known the other's name. It was nice. They married when they came of age, and a child was soon on the way. They found out they were having a baby girl.

Seeing the opportunity present itself, the Ootori family thought this could be a perfect time to merge the companies and gain even more wealth for both sides. The youngest son, only one year old at the time, would be the one betrothed to the infant on the way. The arrangements were made. When the Hyuuga's daughter reached 16, they would learn of the arrangement. After the two finished college, a wedding would happen. There would be no way out of it, or around it. An agreement had been signed, and a marriage between the families was going to happen.

* * *

><p>The first day of school. It was the day no 16 year old looked forward to. Then again, when you're a rich kid that goes to a prestigious school, all of that changes. Unlike most kids my age, I loved going to school. It meant catching up with all of my friends who didn't live in the country, and seeing everyone all over again. That wasn't for another couple of weeks, so I was safe. I already had my uniform ordered, my supplies bought, and everything set up. I was attending Ouran Academy just as I have every year since the 6th grade. My best friend attended with me as well, even though he was in the grade above me.<p>

My family had heard all about it from their friends and about how their older children absolutely loved it there. My parents decided to give it a shot and send me when I was old enough. It was fun there. We had so many things we could do. Class trips, club activities. All of it was just great. The children who attended the schools were rich. We could take trips to more places than most schools could. We had lots and lots of extra funding. It was nice. Skiing in the winter, trips to tropical areas in the summer. Who could ask for a better life? Not to mention all of the amazing boys!

"Eri!" my mother called for me from down the hall.

I jumped out of bed and ran over to my door across the room. "Yeah!"

"Are you dressed and ready yet? The Ootori's aren't going to wait on you forever! This dinner is very important!"

I sighed. I had napped earlier that ay from staying up late that night. It was summer! However, I knew she was right. My best friend was the youngest son of the Ootori family, Kyouya. They had called my parents and made plans for a dinner. They were business associates, so I figured it was another boring dinner Kyo-kun and I would be dragged along to. I planned on spending the night at the Ootori residence after the dinner, too, of course. Kyo and I had grown up together. We played together since my birth. I didn't really make any other friends. I didn't like talking to people. I had Kyouya in my life, and that was enough. He was always there when I needed him, and I was there when he needed me. It was a really great friendship.

I ran over to my closet and flipped through my dresses. I had a lot of them, really. I wasn't sure which one I wanted to wear. I picked a nice, plain, black dress with spaghetti straps that made an 'X' across my back. I quickly showered and dressed. I didn't like wearing dresses all that much. High heels hurt my feet. In high society, dressing nice was a must. Dresses, shirts, ties, high heels, dress shoes, perfect hair, nice make up, up-to-date fashions. It may not seem like it, but it was really a lot pressure. In most cases you had to keep your secrets to yourself. You couldn't trust a lot of people or else you and your family's name would be slandered for a long time. Some people might even hold it over your head for the rest of your life.

After dressing, drying my hair, getting my heels on, and my bag packed, I sat down at my vanity table, and turned on my curling iron. Just like my mother, I had long, beautiful red hair and cat green eyes. She was half Irish and half Japanese. Her red hair had been carried over from her father. Now it was carried over to me. My skin was pale too, with pouty pink lips. I wasn't very tall, probably standing at around 5'4". I didn't mind though. I liked being short. There wasn't really a whole lot to me, I supposed. I was a little bustier, thanks to my mother. Other than that, I guess I just looked average.

Once it was heated up, I used my curling iron to put nice, big curls in my hair. I pinned half of it up with a diamond encrusted clip my grandparents bought me while they were away on a trip. I applied a small amount of eyeliner to my eyes, just a bit on the top, and dusted my cheeks with a small amount of silver shimmer. I then applied a bit of dark red lipstick, and headed down the stairs. One of the maids helped me carry my bag down as I saw my parents gathering in front of the door. I smiled to them as we headed out to the family car.

The ride to the restaurant was pretty fast, and full of laughter. I got along with my parents fantastically. I loved them to death. I wasn't a bad kid, so we didn't have any problems. I did very well in school, and excelled in all of my classes. We went on trips together a lot. We spent so much time with each other. While my father did have a global enterprise, we still managed to be ok. My mother went along with him on business trips, and I stayed behind to do my school work. They never lasted long. About a week. I always stayed with Kyouya when they left. They always made up for the time lost though.

As we made it to the restaurant, the Ootori's were pulling up in their car as well. I grabbed my over night bag and ran up to my best friend, throwing my arms around his neck. I earned myself a small smile from him as he gave me a squeeze and told me to put my things in the car. After that was accomplished, we went inside, and sat down at our reserved table. Kyouya was to my left, the first Ootori son to my right, and they sat in a way that put Kyouya's dad and my parents at the head of the table. It was a little odd since we never sat like that before, but I didn't put much thought into it.

We ordered our drinks, and munched on an appetizer. Small talk was made between everyone at the table. Most Kyo and I held up our on conversation about what we were going to do tonight. He had a few new movies that we could watch, snacks in the house, and a few video games too. I always looked forward to going over to Kyo's house. We always had so much fun. It was obvious, though, that our maturity level was quite different. I still liked to act like a kid. Kyo on the other hand... not so much. He was very mature and I could understand why.

Our conversation, however, was interrupted when Mr. Ootori cleared his throat. "Kyouya, Eri. We have something very important we need to discuss," he said in that firm, booming voice of his.

"Is everything alright?" I asked wearily as our dinner was set on the table before us.

"Of course it is, honey! We just... there's something we have to tell the both of you. You're older now, and the both of you need to know this," My father said gently.

I looked over at Kyouya with a nervous look on my face. He looked as calm as ever.

"As you know," his father began again, "the Ootori family and the Hyuuga family have been partners for quite some time now. You two have grown up with each other, and now that you're nearly adults, you should know by now that we've been meaning to combine the companies."

"Father, could you please tell us what in the world is going on?" Kyouya asked in a soft voice.

"When you two were babies," my mother spoke, "we had talked about arranging a marriage between the two of you. After we found out we were having Eri, it seemed like everything was falling into place, like it was meant to be this way. So we both agreed that you two are going to be married when you're out of college."

I sat there, stunned. Married? To Kyouya? I looked over at him, and down at my plate of hot food. This had to be a joke. I looked at their faces. All of them completely and utterly serious. I couldn't marry my best friend. What if I fell in love with someone else before that? This wasn't fair. I knew that a lot of families arranged marriages. My parents had one, but I didn't think they would put me through something like that. I felt dizzy, as if this were all some surreal dream. I glanced up at Kyouya to see the shock written all over his face.

"We can't marry each other," I said finally in a quiet voice. "We're only friends. And it's not fair that we're kept from falling in love. We may never love each other, and yet we're stuck in a marriage that will be destined to fall apart."

"Eri, there's no negotiating this," my father said slowly. "We signed the agreements before you were even born."

I stared at them incredulously. How could they do that to us? "Eri, sweetheart, you've never even tried to fall in love with Kyouya. You would be surprised at what can happen if you just try," my mother said with a gentle smile.

"I guess we have no choice in the matter," Kyouya said with a sigh.

"You most certainly don't," his father said and dug into his dinner.

The rest of the night while we were out, I barely touched my food. I wasn't very hungry anymore. Marry my best friend? It didn't seem fair to either of us. While a marriage might not change our relationship, I wasn't sure if we would seek intimacy from each other. I didn't know if one would cheat on the other, should we fall in love with another person. Could I even fall in love with my best friend? I didn't really know what to expect, think, or do. I still wanted to spend the night with Kyo, but I wasn't sure I wanted to watch movies, or play video games anymore. I wanted to see what his thoughts were on this. And I wanted to know when we weren't in the company of others.

After hardly eating any dinner that night, I kissed my parents goodbye and got in the car with the Ootori family. Well, at least Kyo and his dad. The car ride was silent for the most part. Until Kyo put his hand over top of mine and gave it a squeeze. That's when his dad spoke up.

"You kids shouldn't be concerned over an arranged marriage. It's normal enough in our society, I don't understand why you're both so shocked. You're familiar with each other. You've known each other all your lives. We could have each of you marry a complete and total stranger you don't even know. You both should consider yourselves lucky," he said.

I guess in a way we were kind of lucky. We did know each other pretty well. We were familiar with each other in almost every way. We had never kissed or done anything even more than that. I just knew what Kyouya's body felt like against mine, how he smelled, and how he sounded. I knew him better than anyone, I'm willing to bet. I did love him, but I wasn't in love with him. Could I marry someone I wasn't in love with? I didn't have a choice, I supposed. It seemed almost pointless if he and I both weren't going to reproduce.

The matter wasn't brought up again. We made it to the Ootori residence, and Kyo and I went up to his bedroom. I set my heels by the door, and sat my bag on the couch. I dug around until I found a pair of shorts, and went over to his closet. I picked through everything until I found my favorite white sweater of his. I made my way into the bathroom, and changed. I wiped off my make up, and let my hair down. When I exited the bathroom, he was already dressed in a white t-shirt and a pair of comfy pants.

I sat down on the couch next to him after I moved my bag, and saw he had already put in one of the new movies he had gotten. He hit play, and only after a few minutes, I hit pause on the remote. I turned and faced him, twiddling my thumbs in my lap. I bit my lip and tried to think of what I wanted to say. I wasn't sure what to do, or how to bring it up, really. I'm sure he could tell something was up. I wasn't talking as much as I usually did.

"Eri, don't worry about the marriage," he said with another squeeze of my hand.

"Kyouya, come on. We're being forced to marry each other! I love you as a friend, and I don't know if I could love you as anything more than that. However, if you still want to, we can try to fall in love." I wasn't sure if he would go for it, but it was worth a shot, right?

"I want to try. We can't get out of it. My father has legal documents regarding the matter. We won't be able to do anything about it. Since we're on the fast track to this marriage, I do want both of us to be happy with each other. Trying to fall in love with each other seems like a logical idea."

I paused for a minute, pulling on my toes. I finally looked up at him with a small smile on my face. "So... where should we start?" I asked.

"How about a date? There's a carnival happening in town that I think you would enjoy a lot. Then maybe we can head to a nice dinner."

I smiled and nodded. "That sounds great." I leaned against my best friend with my legs swung over his lap, and my head on his chest. He hit play on the movie again, and we started watching.


	2. First Date

**First Date**

* * *

><p>I woke up the next morning with a head of black hair clouding my vision. The morning sun was streaming through the large window's of Kyo's room. I yawned and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I stretched and heard my bones crack. Man, that was one hell of a wonderful feeling in the morning. I watched him stir next to me before sitting up, with a hand on his face. I knew he wasn't a morning person, but it was always funny when he tried to scare me. I smiled a little and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, giving them a squeeze. I watched the corners of his lips turn on into a frown. Here we go.<p>

"Get off," He said in a harsh tone.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine!" I said cheerfully.

He turned and glared at him.

"Oh stop! You know we go through this same routine every time I'm here. Get your ass out of bed, and let's get breakfast." I threw the covers off and kissed his cheek. I fixed the sweater I had worn to bed so it wasn't falling off my shoulder, and crawled over to the edge of the bed. I was used to all of his grouchiness by now. I think I was the only person it didn't bother. Tamaki always seemed so... put off by it. I got out of bed and threw open the heavy curtains in his room. I knew he was going to be pissed at that. I looked back and saw him shoot me a death glare. I just smiled.

"Alright Mr. Grouchy Pants, I'm going to be down stairs eating a glorious breakfast. You can either starve, or come eat with me," I said with a shrug. I watched him sigh and throw the blankets back before coming down and leading me out of his bedroom. I couldn't help the triumphant smile that spread across my face. I was the only person in the world that could wake Kyouya up like this on a day where he didn't have school.

We made our way through the large house and down to the kitchen. We ran into his sister, and I was the only one to return her good morning. I rolled my eyes at the boy in front of me as he simply nodded his head. I was never upset by his morning rudeness. A lot of people wondered how I put up with it. I just... knew. I knew he never meant it, even if he never apologized for it. I knew he didn't mean it. I was used to it. He was mean when we were kids in the morning, and not much has changed since then. Of course, when we were kids, I would get angry right back and smack him, but now that we were older, I just treated it with a smile, a perky mood, and waited until he got food into his stomach.

When our breakfast was put before us, blueberry pancakes and bacon for me and eggs, bacon, sausage and toast for Kyo, I looked over to him. He seemed to be in a better mood. "What are we gonna do today?" I asked as I shoved a big bite in my mouth.

He simply shrugged. "I was planning to take you to the carnival tomorrow evening. Today is open to do whatever we want, I suppose."

I sat there for a minute, thinking while I ate. "How about we go swimming today? We haven't done that since the beginning of summer. Why don't you and I take a trip to your family's private beach, get a little sun, sand, and just have a nice relaxing day at the beach," I said with a smile.

"That sounds-" he was cut off by a sharp ringing sound. He stopped moving for a minute and sighed. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and looked at the caller ID. He rubbed his eyes and answered. "What is it, Tamaki?" He asked. "Well, actually, Eri and I were planning on going to the beach-... The whole club?... Alright, fine. We're meeting at my family's private beach. I assume you know how to get there?... Alright, I'll see you all here soon." He hung up and sighed again.

"The Host Club is meeting before school even starts?" I asked as I finished the last of my pancakes and started munching on my bacon.

"I'm sorry, Eri. I can't exactly refuse him, if you catch my meaning. He'll end up coming anyway. I hope you don't mind."

I shook my head with a small laugh. "Of course I don't! You know I don't mind hanging out with them. Besides, Tamaki does have a way with words," I joked as I ate the last of my food, and finished off my milk. Kyouya finished his breakfast as well, and we both headed up stairs. I had to call the house to get my sundress and bikini dropped off. I didn't really specify which one, since I had plenty, so I was looking forward to seeing which one they brought me. I brushed out my hair, and straightened out the curls. Surprisingly, it didn't look like crap.

The boys arrived before the maid from my house did. I hated making them wait. I felt bad, but they said they didn't mind waiting. Honey greeted me rather warmly, as well as Tamaki. I couldn't help but laugh at him when he knelt down and actually kissed my hand. The twins gave a simple hello, and Mori just kinda stood there. They were a strange bunch, alright, but they were all still really nice. What Kyouya could possibly get from hanging around these guys, I wasn't really sure, but I didn't ask. It was something he wanted to do, and who was I to tell him otherwise?

I was relieved when he didn't say anything about our engagement. I knew Kyo didn't want anyone to know, and for now, I didn't either. We were testing the waters with each other. On top of that, we would have enough pressure put on us by our parents, and we didn't need it from others as well. The door was knocked on once again, and I answered it this time. I saw the house maid, with a bag in hand. She handed it over and bowed before heading back to the car. I thanked her before excusing myself to go change. I looked down into the bag when I reached Kyo's room. It had my blue strapless sundress and my lime green bikini. I was pleased with the choice.

I quickly dressed, and looked myself over in the mirror. I thought I looked pretty good. I slipped on my flip flops and ran down stairs excitedly. They were all waiting, and talking about club business. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I cleared my throat when I reached the bottom of the stairs. They all looked at me. I smiled at them and waved. "So, can we go, or are we going to talk about Host Club activities in the entry way all day?" I asked with a small laugh.

We all gathered into the Ootori family car, and made way to the beach. Everyone made small talk, except for me. While I was excited to get to the beach, I still had the entire engagement on my mind. It was hard to grab the concept. I didn't have a ring on my finger, and I didn't _feel _like I was going to be married when I got out of college. I guess it was because I wasn't gushing over the black haired boy beside me. I glanced over at him, watching him look out of the opposite window as me. I couldn't deny that he was handsome and beautiful. He was rather sweet when it came to us being along. He was smart, I thought he was funny, and he treated me better than anyone else.

In a way, I guess it kind of was a miracle I didn't fall in love with my best friend. He had a great future ahead of him regardless of weather he took over his father's company or not. He was kind hearted and nice when you got passed the 'all business' layer of him. Why hadn't I fallen for him? I guessed it was because I had known him all my life, and it would be like being married to my brother. Was that the reason? It was a lot to think of. I wished Kyo and I could've gone to the beach by ourselves.

"Eri-chan, is everything ok?" Tamaki asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine! Just thinking about some things, that's all." I put a smile on my face as the twins gave me a skeptical look. I was glad the blonde was so easy to fool. I couldn't say much for the twins, though. They had a certain eye for things that seemed wrong. I couldn't expect any less. Their mother was one of the top fashion designers in the world.

We made it to the Ootori beach house, and gathered up all of our things. We went through the lower level of their marvelous home, and it the stairs that lead down to the beach. Commoners weren't allowed here, so it made it extra nice to be able to relax without worrying about people kicking sand in your face, stepping on you, and all of the screaming and shouting. I set my chair down away from the water, and grabbed the sunscreen. I put some on my face, chest, stomach, legs, and arms before I handed the bottle of to Kyo and turned my back to him, pulling my hair away.

"We're in one hell of a situation, aren't we, Kyo-kun?" I asked with a sigh.

"If you're talking about the you-know-what, then stop worrying about it. I'll read over the papers. If it has nothing in it about a divorce, then we can always get on if we really don't want to be married anymore. And if not, then I don't really know what we're going to do. The only thing we really can do is accept it and take your mother's advice," He said and gave my shoulders a reassuring squeeze before finishing up the rest of my back.

Normally Kyo wasn't sweet to me in front of the Club members. He kept his calm,cool, distant persona in place while they were around. I didn't mind, though. Everyone saw him as the Shadow King of Ouran. I saw so much more than that. I saw what most people would never have the privilege of seeing in their life time. Not even Tamaki had seen his sweet side. It was something that was only reserved for me to see. Even in front of his father, he was a major emotionless hard ass. I knew what pressures were put on him ever day. He wanted to top his brothers and take over the company, but his perfect grades wouldn't be enough. He was under a lot of pressure. I wondered if that was why he was apart of the host club.

Kyo had gotten up to leave, going to fetch something in the house. I reclined my lawn chair so I could lay flat on it, and the moment he was out of ear shot, the twins came over. The both had a devilish smirk on those lips. I had a feeling this wasn't going to be good. Everyone else was in the water playing, and too busy to even think about looking at us. I already knew what they were going to grill me about.

"So, Eri, what's made you so quiet?" Hikaru asked.

"You're normally so talkative. What happened to that?" Kaouru questioned as they leaned down close to my face.

"Just like I told Tamaki, I was thinking about a few things, that's all." I flashed them a smile.

"We saw that look you gave Kyouya!" they said in unison. "Are you in love with him?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Far, far from it!" I shook my head. "Honestly, it's nothing, I promise," I said and closed my eyes so they knew I wasn't going to give up anymore information.

For a while, I lay there on my chair, enjoying the sun, attempting to get a tan. I never tanned, so I don't know why I ever really tried. I guess just to see if I could make myself darker. My skin was perpetually pale, and nothing would change it. I heard Kyouya sitting next to me, typing away on his computer, with an umbrella planted into the ground. I was still tired from staying up so late and waking up so early in the morning, and a nap sounded great. I wanted to push my chair over and lay down next to him under the umbrella, but I knew he wouldn't go for that. We cuddled when we were at his house or mine, and no one else was with us.

"Are you just going to lay there all day?" He asked. I could hear the slight smile in his voice.

"Are _you _just going to sit there all day?" I countered and sat up to look at him.

"I have work I have to do."

I gave him a skeptical look. "Right! Well, you have fun being a loser, I'm going to go play with the others. My skin isn't getting any darker anyway!" I got up and ran towards the ocean. Honey grabbed my hand and pulled me into the water.

"Come play with me, Eri-chan!" he said happily as we started splashing each other.

When I was with the Host Club, I couldn't help but forget that Honey was a senior. He was so tiny, and cute. He looked like he belonged in elementary school. He was rather smart, though, and very strong. I had seen him fight before the Host Club was even formed. It was amazing that such a small boy could take on men of normal height and weight. If I remember correctly, he even took on his father and won. I didn't really know much about his history, but I still adored Honey. I think he knew I had a weakness for his cute face. He could get me to do anything for him, even if I didn't want to.

We all stopped playing long enough to eat some lunch that a few of the servants in the house had prepared. It was just sandwiches, and a few other assorted snacks. We even had cake for dessert. I knew a certain someone who was going to love that. While I did want to spend this day with Kyouya to see if we really were compatible, I still enjoyed being with the entire Host Club. They always put a smile on my face. They were all silly, and fun. Especially Tamaki. He was the craziest of them all. Kyouya mainly just took care of the financial aspects of the club, everyone else was a host. He did take on a few customers, but not many. He was busy coming up with ideas to make the Host Club more money.

"Too bad we can't stay the night here," Tamaki commented as he finished his lunch.

I nodded in agreement. "I've always loved this place," I said with a fond sigh.

"We probably all could stay the night," Kyo added in as he finished up his lunch as well. "I would have to call and make the arrangements, and we would have to get everyone's stuff brought over as well."

"Really, Kyo-kun? Can we really stay?" I asked excitedly.

He merely nodded and started making phone calls.

Our date wasn't until the following evening so we had plenty of time to hit up the beach, and have a wonderful dinner. I was looking forward to spending another day at the beach. I was hoping to get Kyouya up here alone some time, and see just how well we did. Maybe we could do a mock marriage. Just pretend we were married, and see where we went from there. I wouldn't mind doing that. It could be fun. It was something to think about I supposed.

The arrangements were made, and our things would be dropped off. I made sure I had Kyo's sweater that I had worn last night. I always wore that sweater when I spent the night with him, and I didn't plan on changing that any time soon. We went back to the beach, and played around with each other until it was time for dinner. We stayed and watched the sunset until it always sunk below the horizon. Our dinner consisted of pasta, fruit salad, and buttered biscuits. It was really good.

We all got ready for bed after that since it was a little late, but I wasn't ready to sleep yet. I wanted to spend some alone time with my future husband. I guess all of the thinking really was making me used to the idea, which I was thankful for. I got dressed in my bed clothes, as did he, and I took his hand with a smile on my face.

"What are you up to?" He asked me with a curious look on his face.

"Shh! You just have to wait and see, silly!" I lead him through the house, having been here a million times since my childhood, and kept going up and up through the floors until we reached the roof. I lead him through the exit door, and sat down. The sky was beautiful and clear that night, and I wanted to spend some time with him. I sat down in the middle of the roof and watched the stars. The mood was full and made everything look absolutely gorgeous.

"This is what you dragged me out of bed for?" He asked with a small laugh.

"Well, you're the one that said the Host Club could come along. I wanted this to be our day. Even though we are going on a date tomorrow." I rested my head on his shoulder with a smile.

"So you're not worried about the engagement anymore?"

I thought about it for a minute. "No, I don't think so. I mean, it was a shock at first, but it's been on my mind all last night and all day today. I'm actually used to the idea already. I also realize that even if we don't end up falling in love with each other, I'll still be happy. You're my best friend, Kyouya. You make me happy. You make me laugh and smile. It may not be that amazing romantic love we're both looking for, but at least we make each other happy, right?"

He paused for a moment. "Eri, I know you want to be with that one person you're madly in love with, and I know I'm not that person. I don't want you to have to settle because of some agreement our parents made when we were young. I want to try and make sure we tried our hardest to fall in love. No matter what it takes." He took my hands and looked into my eyes.

"Kyouya," I said with a small smile on my face. "I feel so special knowing that I'm the only one that gets to see your sweet side!" I laughed a little and hugged him tightly. He had to be the sweetest boy I had ever met in my life.

"I like letting you be the only one to see me like this." He planted a kiss on my cheek before we headed back into the house. We made it back to his bedroom, and lay down ready for bed. I had a lot to take in when it came to everything Kyouya had said to me. I couldn't help but smile when I thought of it. It was all so sweet, and so cute. Maybe falling for my best friend was a little easier than I thought.

After we pulled the covers over or bodies, the strangest thing happened. Kyo actually snuggled up to me. Normally I was the one that threw my arms around him, and cuddled up to him. He actually slipped his arms around me, and pulled me close. I smiled like crazy. This little trip was turning out to be rather amazing.

The next morning we all woke up a bit early to get breakfast. Just like every other morning, Kyo was a grouch, but I still woke him up anyway. He kept his mouth shut at breakfast until he had something in his stomach. We went to the beach soon after and started having fun. We were leaving at lunch so Kyo and I would be read in time for our date. We were going to have a nice dinner before we went to the carnival. He said there was something he wanted me to see that they weren't showing until later in the evening. I couldn't help but wonder what it was.

No matter how badly I wanted to lay next to him on the beach that day, I refrained from doing it just like I always had. I couldn't stop glancing over at him, though. His expression never changed as he kept typing away on his laptop. Sometimes I wondered if he was super glued to that thing. He never stopped doing work on it. At least that's how it seemed. I really didn't mind, though. He was rather... career driven, if that was the right word for it. We always worked on our homework together, and he finished before me. He was smart, and very brilliant. He helped me more often that I would've liked to admit.

After we had a quick lunch, we all went home. The family car was due to pick me up when I got back to the Ootori residence. I was really excited for our first date. The boys didn't know about the carnival, or anything else. It made it all simpler for us. I was free to hold Kyo's hand if I wanted. It made me even more giddy to go. I made sure all of my stuff was packed before I left, and he told me he would be picking me up at four. I showered up, getting all of the salt out of my hair, and did my make up. I wanted to look extra pretty.

I put on a pair of khaki short shorts and a light blue tank top corset-like shirt. There was white lace around the ties in the front and around every edge. I couldn't help but love the way I looked. I didn't put on any make up except for a little glitter on my cheeks. I curled my hair just like I had for dinner and pinned up the side where my bangs hung down with another beautiful clip my parents had gotten me while they were in England for business. I slipped on a pair of strappy white sandals, with a small heel. I hoped Kyouya liked the way I looked.

Just as I had put the finishing touches on my look, the maid came in and told me Kyo was here. I grinned as I quickly put my cell phone in my pocket and rushed down the stairs. He was waiting for me at the door. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white button down shirt. It was open towards the top, showing off a bit of his chest. His hair was a little messier than usual, his glasses hanging off his face like they always did. No matter how casual he tried to be, he always looked like he was from high society. Even if he did try and look like a commoner.

He looked over at me as I reached the bottom step, and a real, honest to god smile spread across his lips. His eyes glittered as he looked at me, and I could feel the blush form on my cheeks. I really hoped he thought I looked good. I reached him and he took my hand, kissing my fingers gently.

"You look stunning, Eri," he said in a low voice.

I blushed again. "Shall we get going?" I asked.

"Oh! You're right. I made a dinner reservation for 4:30. We better get going." He lead me out to the car, opening the door and helping me in. He was being extra sweet today. It was really cute.

"I hope you like the place we're going. It's not exactly like the places our parents normally go. They don't mind that we're dressed down for the occasion. They serve a lot of seafood, and many other dishes like steaks, and pastas. I wasn't sure what all you would be in the mood for, so I picked a place that served a little of everything," He said once the driver pulled out of the driveway.

"You thought of everything, didn't you?" I asked with a small laugh.

He pulled out a red rose out of what seemed like no where and put it in my hair. "Well, I would hope I thought of everything." He smiled at me and kissed my cheek. I had a feeling this date was going to go off without a hitch.

We had a nice dinner. The place wasn't anything like the places we've gone before. It was nice, and filled with couples having dinner, but the prices of the food were a lot cheaper than the places Kyo and I were used to. They still had wonderful food, and they didn't mind in the slightest they we weren't dressed like we were going to a black tie event. We talked about the Host Club, and school. We talked about what classes we were going to take that year. I hated that I couldn't be in the same classes as him. I really wish I could've been.

We hit up the carnival and everything was just amazing! There were booths with food, games, candy, everything. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen! There were rides too. He bought us an all night ticket, which was a big stamp on the back of our hands. We took a walk around looking at everything before we got on a few rides, and played a few games. Kyo won be a cute little stuffed cat. We went on a few rides, and when the sun started to go down, we got in line to get on the Ferris wheel, and he kept glancing at his watch. I wondered what he could be doing. Was he anxious to get our date over with already?

Finally when it was our turn to get on, he told me to sit down and he would be right there. I did as he asked and took my seat while he talked to the operating man, and slipped him what looked like a ton of cash. I wondered what in the world he was up to. I kept my mouth shut as he took his place beside me with a small smile on his lips. We got locked in, and the ride started. However, we got stuck at the top. I looked around, wondering what in the hell was happening.

"Kyo-kun, can you see what's going on?" I asked as I peaked over the side of the car.

"No, I can't. I wonder if the ride broke down," He said in an absent minded tone.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom in the sky. My attention quickly turned as I saw sparks of color explode. I looked over at the boy sitting next to me with a huge smile on my face. "You planned all of this, didn't you?"

He just shrugged and took my hand. I leaned on his shoulder with a smile on my face. I can't believe he planned out such a wonderful first date. He really was amazingly sweet. At least I knew what he payed the operator for. Towards the end of the show, he pulled away from me. I looked at him curiously as he slid a finger under my chin.

"Everything ok?" I asked quietly.

He simply nodded before he lowered his face to mine and lightly placed his lips on mine. I was stunned at first, but I ended up kissing him back. I was surprised at myself, and surprised at him. Kyouya had never acted like he wanted to kiss me, and he was being amazingly gentle with me. After a moment he pulled away, just looking at me.

"I thought it would be one great way to put the finishing touches on our first date," He said quietly.

"I think you're right," I said with a small giggle.

He kept his arm around my shoulders until the fireworks were over. When we got off the Ferris wheel, he laced his fingers with mine as we walked around the place again. We ended up sharing a funnel cake and a milkshake before we started to head home.

"I really hope you had a good time tonight," He said with a squeeze of my hand.

"Oh, of course I did. Dinner was great, the carnival was fun, and the... thing that happened on the Ferris wheel," I said with a bright red blush on my cheeks.

I heard a chuckle escape his lips. "I was hoping you would like that best."

"Nope!" I teased. "The stuffed cat is." I hugged him close as I looked over at Kyouya..

He put his arm around me again and gave me a squeeze. "I really am glad you had a great night. We'll have to have another date night some time soon." He kissed me head just as the car stopped in front of my house.

He helped me out just as he did before, and walked me inside. I honestly had no idea that thing could go so well between us. That kiss was... amazing too. He gave me a hug and gently kissed me once again. "I'll probably see you some time this week. School starts in a few days. Do you want me to come pick you up?"

"Of course I do! We always go to school together on the first day. I'll see you then?" I asked, hugging the stuffed cat to my chest.

He nodded and kissed my forehead before leaving the house with one last goodbye.

After he left, I couldn't help but hold that cat with a huge grin on my face. I felt so happy, it was really unreal. Who knew my best friend could cause this kind of reaction in me.

"Well," my mother's voice said from the stairs, "it looks like the two of you certainly had one good evening!"

I turned and faced her with a smile. "Yeah, we did. Maybe this arrangement isn't so bad after all," I said with a shrug as I headed up the stairs to get ready for bed.


End file.
